Stupid Bolt Hole!

[Infidel Edition]

OK... So old school (like my grandpa used to do) trick to deal with that stripped aluminum bolt hole.

I was bolting the power steering pump back on and the upper (middle here) bolt on the lower bracket was stripped out.
* note that the bracket is held in place by 2 other bolts and this bolt primarily only has a lateral torque to deal with...

Sure, I could drill it out and get a slightly longer bolt and do the bolt and nut thing.... but what fun is that!
:rolleye0012:

I'm able to turn it with my fingers!

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So, take a piece of wire (copper wire) and strip out the end....

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fold it over and place it into the STUPID BOLT HOLE spreading them out thusly

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And put the bolt back... and tighten down.
Depending on the bolt size and thread type, you may need more or less copper

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The copper is soft enough to self thread from the bolt... and hard enough to work into the aluminum hole threads.
~ ok, I'm not a metallurgist, but that's how my little brain understands it.

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The bolt is now tight enough that it's not loose... and not gonna come out.

[Mudderoy]

How does it hold up over time? With the two dissimilar metals doesn't electrolysis occur?

[Pookapotamus]

Now that's an "XJ" thing!


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[Infidel Edition]

How does it hold up over time? With the two dissimilar metals doesn't electrolysis occur?

I think copper and aluminum can co-exist. Many computer cpu fans and heat sync's are copper and aluminum.
My radiator is copper and aluminum too...

Grandpa used it often on his 60 vw as most of the brackets were soft.

As for overtime, I've never tried it on a vital bolt ~ this bolt is 1 of 3 and should be fine.